I Am A Soul In Need
by Synthesized Squawk
Summary: How are you supposed to move on after you've given up? Do you live on as a shell of your former self? Or do you dust yourself off and prepare for the long road to recovery? Follow Issei, on his way to become something more.
1. I Am A Soul In Need

**Greetings strangers. This is my first fanfiction story and I hope you enjoy it.**

 **A little heads up though, this story will be a bit different than some. First off while I have plans of where I want this to go, I am writing this chapter by chapter. I mostly have theories and concepts in my head at the moment and I kind of come up with more ideas as I go along.**

 **That being said, there are some things I think you should all know before diving in to my story. First thing, Draig will not be in this story. PERIOD. while I like Draig, there are just so many possibilities for a replacement, that I felt I needed to try this idea out. Worry not, Issei will still be the red dragon emperor but with a different dragon. Secondly, and what I feel I may get quite a bit of heat from is, there will be no pairing between Issei and anyone in the ORC. This is non-negotiable and quite honestly one of the only story points I am quite adamant about. I honestly like all the characters but romances with them are kinda played out. I myself am a fan of unconventional ideas which is why I like the NarutoxAnko pairing from naruto so much, because it honestly would never happen. Sorry getting off topic anyway I have a request. I would really love some constructive criticism on my story. And in all honesty, things like "I hate your story! I'm not even going to read it anymore." are really unproductive. It usually pisses the writer off, and then it can ruin the story for everyone else who does like it when a writer gets fed up with writing for people who don't respect their work. All in all enjoy the story, and if you don't like it tell me why, or if my story bothers you so much that you feel you have to tell me that you won't be reading my story anymore do me a favor? Stop reading and just find another story, cuz no one really wants to hear your shit kay? Whew! now that that's out of the way let's get started shall we?**

 **Disclaimer:** **This Tzar does not own Highschool DXD or any other media because let's face it, if I did, I would not be writing this right now and Issei would be less perverted and more badass.**

 **Thoughts: '** I wonder how sensitive Kunou's tails are?'

 **Regular Speech: "** Oh really? Never took you for a Furry.

 **Sacred Gear Thoughts:** **'These idiots better not fight in the house again'**

 **Sacred Gear Speech:** **"I can't believe you ate that!"**

 **SLAM!**

A scrawny body smacked against the dark alley wall, slowly drooping into the damp grime infested puddle below. His face swollen and repugnant held an expression of terror as the blows to his body continued. Attempting to curl into the fetal position so as to hide himself away from these vile creatures intent on making him suffer. Their words just as sharp as the physical torment that was being inflicted on him.

"How do you like that?!" **CRUNCH!** "Look at him! Cowering like a little bitch!" One yelled angrily.

"Oi! Oi! Look at him!" He's fucking crying! Oh my god this is priceless! Let me snap a picture!" Another chortled.

"Come on ya little twit! Fight back! Get the fuck up you little shit! **STAND YOUR ASS UP!** " A third roared.

Clothes torn, the young man losing his will to even tremble in fear as crimson ichor oozed from his battered and bruised body.

 **? P.O.V**

' _I just want this to end... What do they want with me? I never did anything to them... I don't know how much longer I can take this... I can feel my mind fading... I'm losing consciousne..._

 **3rd Person P.O.V**

His head fell to the side as his consciousness left him leaving him even more vulnerable to his attackers. Though now that he wasn't awake to show his fear to his assailants; they grew disinterested in a downed victim.

"Awww come on! He passed out already!" One said dejectedly.

"Hey! Check his wallet for cash! Maybe we can get a free meal outta the little bitch." The

second said animatedly.

"Hehe looks like dinners on you... Issei-kun"

 **Timeskip Unknown**

Light brown eyes opened to the darkness of the alleyway and the darkening sky above him. Groaning in pain, he hoisted himself off the ground and ran his hand through his messy amber locks.

"Damn it's getting dark out, I better get home "mom and dad" will get mad" he stated with a bitter tone. Issei limped his way out of the darkened passage and proceeded to make hid trek home. This was a normal day for the high school boy, his life consisting of waking up, going to school, and getting beaten up afterwards. His home life wasn't any better, usually coming home to an empty house because his adoptive parents were always on business trips. On the rare occasion when they were home, their conversations consisted of berating his progress in school and telling him he wasn't going to amount to anything if he didn't work hard enough. That's not to say Issei was a bad student, he was actually ranked 50th in his year in the last exam, not to mention he wasn't trying all that hard to keep up his grades. He actually answered questions wrong because he wanted to stay inconspicuous and not draw attention to himself for being too smart. It was so easy for him to memorize anything due to his eidetic memory, and while it was a boon in school, remembering everything he saw was a double edged sword. The constant beatings and verbal abuse were forever ingrained in his mind consistently plaguing him.

 **Hyoudou Home**

As Issei finally reached his not so modest 2 story home that bordered on the line of a small mansion he noticed his parent's car in the driveway. Sighing he went to open the back door to try and sneak in so he didn't have to talk to them and explain why he was soaked in blood. As he closed the door, making sure not to utter a sound, he swiftly crept up the stairs. Yet, as luck would have it, as he made the final step there was a loud groan.

"Shit..."

Silently cursing the creaky step, as well as his luck, he dreaded the next few moments as he heard the shuffling of feet from the living room. There was no hiding now, the teen mustering as much courage as he could, prepared for the tirade of queries he solemnly made his way back down the steps.

"Issei Hyoudou" His father intoned. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Well sir it's..." Issei began

"It's past midnight, where could you have possibly been that caused you to be home this late?"

"I was..." The young man tried to get a word in just as his mother turned on the lights and stepped down the stairs.

"Dear what's going on... OH MY GOD! ISSEI! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU!"

"Yes Issei what **were** you doing to come home in such a manner" Mr. Hyoudou stated losing his neutral tone.

"After school there were these guys..." Issei started to explain

"So, you got into another fight even though we explicitly told you to refrain from such vulgar acts"

"No but I..."

"BUT. **NOTHING!"** The Hyoudou patriarch grounded out. "This is the last straw! You ungrateful little..."

"DEAR!"

"WHAT!"

"Please, calm yourself and say what you have to say"

"Fine... It won't matter soon anyways"

Issei began to dread what his parents had in store for him. ' _I just want it to end...'_

His father began "Issei, this was planned for after you turned eighteen, but you've forced my hand...

' _What? I don't understand...'_

"Your mother and I are leaving, and we are not taking you with us."

' _So? They leave all the time, and i never went with them before..._ '

"We won't be returning."

' _What? But that means... no..._ '

"We're leaving you the house, and we left some money in your account so you can get by."

' _Please, let this be a dream... I just want it to end..._ '

"Don't try to contact us... we won't answer.

' _Why? Why can't they understand..._ '

"And in case you get any ideas about following us your account has been locked until we leave"

' _How can they... Did I ever matter to them?_ '

"This is Goodbye Issei... You were a good tax deduction while it lasted, now go upstairs; we'll be gone when you wake up."

The young man began to feel drowsy and soon enough he collapsed, with a single thought racing through his head.

' _I just want it to end..._ '

With that final thought he drifted off into his nightmares, and the man and woman left the unconscious boy on the ground.

"Wasn't that a little harsh, Mr. Hyoudou?" The female softly giggled.

The male snorted as if amused by her question. "Coming from you, that's rich Mrs. Hyoudou."

The Woman seemed indignant at his insinuation. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean... I'll have you know I'm a dignified young lady!"

"Hehe, that's what you're calling yourself? I'll give you the dignified, seeing as you can be when you feel like it.

' _Not like she ever acts like it in the first place_ '

"But a young lady? That's rich; you're so old your birth certificate is expired!"

"OI!"

"I mean it's not your looks but you're so old when you take a shit, fossils come out!

"STOP!"

"Hey! Being old isn't a bad thing, but rumor through the grapevine is, you're so old you got slapped by Eve for blowing Adam!"

"HEY! THAT WAS ONE TIME!"

"What? Oh shit really!? Holy shit I was joking but you actually... snnrk, and then she... HA! Oh

that is just priceless, oh man wait till Mr. A hears about this!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Two words, Vacuum. Cleaner."*

"Erk, Fine, You got me I won't say anything"

"Good, I'm glad we ca..."

"Won't say anything if you get back before I do! See ya!"

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

 **A SOUL IN NEED A SOUL IN NEED A SOUL IN NEED A SOUL IN NEED A SOUL IN NEED**

Issei woke feeling miserable, his whole body stiff from sleeping on the floor; he winced as the blood throbbed through his temples like a steamroller. His mind a blur, he recalled the previous night's conversation, tears built in the corners of his eyes, slowly flowing to his chin and trickling into a pool in front of him.

' _Why? They weren't here that much, and we were kind of distant, but they were my parents! Adopted or not, I thought they cared about me a little bit... I... I don't think i can do this anymore... I'm all alone... no one cares... i just want it to end.'_

With a solemn determination, Issei languidly walked to his supply closet and pulled out a bottle of bleach. He shouldered the heavy bottle and made his way to the kitchen, proceeding to take a cup from the cabinet. Sitting at the dining room table he poured himself his cup of death, lifting it up, he held out his glass.

"Kanpai " He muttered sardonically.

With a steady hand he haltingly drew the cup closer to his waiting lips.

' _Inch by foreboding inch,_

 _This Daunting cup I take,_

 _With each breath I keep,_

 _Brings me closer to my fate,_

 _This chalice of death is my salvation._

 _By-Issei Hyoudou_ '

Hesitation. No sooner than the cup reached his lips he stopped, resisting the embrace of death he sought. Again his hand moved toward his perceived salvation, reaching, yearning, to end his suffering.

 **"STOP!"**

! His hand released and time seemed to slow, as the cup sluggishly fell to its doom he frantically attempted to reach for his savior, but his body would not respond. As if by magic the moment his cup touched the floor he moved, and fell to his knees, the salty tears returning, as he desolately gazed at the floor, where his savior lay empty.

' _I'm such a coward... I suffer every day and I finally muster up the courage to do it, but the moment I try, I wimp out at the last second.'_

"Damn... Damn it... Damn it all!"

The tears began to cascade down his face; he began to hug himself trying to will himself back to normal, to be able to function, to go to school.

' _Who knows maybe something good could happen today?_ ' His positive side thought, whatever was left of it anyways

"Heh, yeah right, like that would ever happen."

The teen pushed himself off the ground, and made his way up the stairs to get ready for school. As he made his way to school, Issei overheard the latest gossip, and it wasn't good.

" _Hey look, I heard his parents left him because he was so violent that they couldn't handle him anymore."_

 _"No way, really? I heard he beats up kids after school and steals their money"_

 _"Wow I'm glad my child isn't so unbalanced, I'm surprised his parents didn't leave him earlier"_

With each passing moment, the whispers, the glares, Issei shrunk into himself and tried to ignore the hurtful words.

' _Where did they even hear those things? I've never done anything like that... Don't they have_

 _anything better to do than to harass me like this?_ '

 **? P.O.V**

A lone figure could be seen, sitting along a riverbank, upset over something.

' _Shit... His life-force almost gave out. I'll need to empower his soul a bit, should keep him spirited for a while, but he'll need someone to keep him in good spirits... A friend perhaps? No, to slow on the uptake... Hmm... a sibling perhaps? Maybe, but it isn't a very solid idea. I mean where would I even get him one, let alone a stranger showing up to his doorstep claiming to be his sibling. No, what he needs is someone that can be as close as a sibling, perhaps even closer. Parental figure? Definitely not considering what recently happened... What am i leaving out? There has to be something I'm missing, but what could it possibly...!_

"That's it! A lover! A girlfriend would be perfect! Although it can't be anyone he's familiar with understandably, so a person he's never met huh? I'll have to keep an eye out for any new faces around him. I just hope he can hold on that long, i don't know if I'll be able to stop him next time..."

 **A SOUL IN NEED A SOUL IN NEED A SOUL IN NEED A SOUL IN NEED A SOUL IN NEED**

Stepping on to school grounds Issei sighed to himself.

' _Why am I even here? I should have just stayed home..._ '

Making his way to the second year classrooms, Issei heard several girlish screams, followed by the voices of which he assumed belonged to the girls kendo club.

"OUTTA THE WAY!/MOVE IT WILL YA!" Two voices screamed

"GET BACK HERE YOU PERVERTS!" Was the collective cry of the enraged females.

 **WHAM!**

Issei was suddenly on the ground, underneath the two males.

"Shit, Matsuda!"

"Oi! Motohama! Their gaining on us!"

"Hey kid, hold onto these for us okay? We owe you one." Finished with their conversation, said perverts ran off leaving the unfortunate young man behind with a rather full, manila envelope. The kendo girls had reached the point of collision just in time to see the pervy duo hand off the envelope to the confused Issei.

"Hey look" whispered one of the kendo girls. "It's that weird kid whose parents left him."

"Look! He's hiding something for them!" another yelled. "I knew he was bad, but to think he was a pervert like the idiotic duo..."

"Let's teach him a lesson about what we do to perverts like him!"

"Wait this isn't..." The poor boy tried to explain.

"GET HIM!"

"MAKE SURE HE PAYS!"

"please... stop..." ' _why... Why... WHY... please I don't wanna hurt anymore... make it stop... I just want it to end... let me be..._ '

"I think he's learned his lesson, let's just trash the pervs garbage and get to class." With one last hit to the suffering boy, they went off to their classes.

" **Everything will be okay soon enough, child** "

! Issei turned around trying to find the voice, but no one seemed to be around.

"Ahhhh" He ran his hand through his hair. "I guess I'm finally losing it..."

Pushing himself off the floor, he silently made his way to class, and moved to his seat near the back row. Even though he tried to ignore the class banter, he couldn't help but overhear a few things.

"Did you hear? That Issei kid is in with the perverted duo now, the kendo team caught him with a whole stash of pervy items from their collection."

"I heard there is a new transfer student in our class today, and it's a pretty girl!"

"Well we better warn her about the new pervert before he gets too close!"

Before the banter could get any further, the homeroom teacher walked in the room. "All right class settle down, and before any of you ask, yes there is a transfer student, yes it's a girl, now pipe down, and let her introduce herself, Come on in Amano-san."

The few moments before the classroom door opened, were excruciating. The eager anticipation from the boys, the slightly jealous glares at the door from the girls, you could cut through the emotions in the room with a knife. With a soft click, the door slowly slid open and Issei's world went silent. No cheers or whistles from the boys were heard, neither were the silent groans of the girls heard, as if the whole world stopped for this girl. Beauty, Earth-shattering, time-stopping, all-encompassing beauty. In all his life, Issei had never seen such loveliness. From her deep violet eyes, to her ebony locks that flowed like an obsidian river, the angel-esque smile on her ever so slightly angular face. Time began again, and before the teacher could have her introduce herself, the classroom exploded into shouts of semi deranged boys, and thoroughly aggravated, and partially blushing girls.

"UUWWOOOOO!"

"HELL YEAH!"

"SO HOT!"

"Tch..."

"So annoying..."

"Really? Another one..."

Writing her name on the board, she turned to face the class.

"Greetings everyone!" She curtsied. "My name is Amano Yuuma! Please take care of me!"

With that greeting, she gave a blinding smile and directed her attention to the teacher for her seating arrangement. The poor teacher couldn't even get a word in before the room erupted once again, this time with slightly different reactions from the girls.

UUWWOOOOO! AN ANGEL! AN ANGEL CAME TO OUR CLASS!"

"HELL YEAH! ANGEL-SAMAAA! MARRY MEEE!"

"SO HOT! ANOTHER GREAT LADY OF KUOU HAS DECENDED!"

"Wow... she's so nice."

"Oh my! She seems just like Akeno Onee-sama!"

⁓blush⁓ "My love... We will be together soon..."

Having enough of his student's nonsense, the teacher decided to start the class."THAT'S ENOUGH!... *ahem* Now that you've all settled down, we can begin. Amano-san, there is a seat near the back if you would, please."

' _Fuck you teach... Fuck you._ '

Once more the classroom was filled with shouts of protest.

"Nooooo! Teacher don't make her sit by the creep!"

"Damn bastard, guess he thinks he's all that, getting to sit next to the newest great lady."

"We'll teach him a lesson after school, like always right?"

"EEEWW! YUUMA ONEE-SAMA! TAKE MY SEAT DON'T SIT NEXT TO THE PERV!"

"Don't worry Yuuma-Chan! We'll fix this!

"Fucking damn punk-ass perverted little bastard... I will make you suffer. "

"Now now class, Let Amano-san form her own opinions about Hyoudou-kun... And since you don't seem to pay attention in my class Hyoudou-kun, perhaps you would give your textbook to her, till she gets her own."

' _Son of a... he's just making things worse for me... I'll just give her the book and leave her be..._ '

Issei silently handed his book to his new neighbor, without as much as a look in her direction.

"Ah... thank you, Issei... kun"

There was no response, but the young lady smiled and turned her attention to the teacher.

 **A SOUL IN NEED A SOUL IN NEED A SOUL IN NEED A SOUL IN NEED A SOUL IN NEED**

The final bell had rung; Issei had put his things away quickly, hoping to avoid yesterday's bullies. Not bothering to say farewell to his classmates, Issei quickly made his way to the school gates. Just as he was about to cross the threshold of the thrice damned institution, a familiar female voice called out to him.

"Issei-kun! Let's walk home together!"

Stopping in his tracks, he turned his head to the voice, and spoke a single word.

"...why?"

She giggled softly, as if the reason for her odd request was the simplest thing in the world.

"Because I wanna talk with you, silly!"

"...you shouldn't." With those two words, he walked away, leaving behind a confused, but determined Amano Yuuma. As Issei made his way back to his home, he got the feeling that he was being watched. Turning quickly, he looked at his surroundings and found nothing.

' _Odd... I could've sworn someone was following me..._ '

With a slight uneasiness in his step, he continued his way home

"Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii"

"!" Almost frantically, he spun his body around again, searching for any sign of his tail. Catching a glimpse of black behind a house, the young man had had enough of his secret follower.

"Hmm... someone, or something... is following me, maybe it's whatever is hiding behind that house over there..."

"!" Flinching, Issei's secret follower desperately thought of a way to turn him away. Overcome with impetuousness, the hiding figure made a decision.

"Nyaaa... nya nya nyyaaaaa nyaroooo *ahem* nyaaa nya."

Sweatdropping, Issei continued to the hiding figure.

"Oh, it was just a cat, how silly of me... guess I'll just head home then..."

"phew" The foolish stalker let out a heavy breath.

"You're a bit of an airhead, aren't ya?"

"Kyaa!"

*sigh* "Amano-san, why are you following me..."

"Well... I... I..."

"Please... just leave me be, you being near me will just make things worse for me..."

Issei turned and started walking again.

"Listen... I'm going home; I suggest you do the same."Leaving the saddened girl behind, Issei continued on his way home.

' _Issei-kun... how much have you suffered from_ _ **their**_ _plans..."_ A surge of determination appeared on her face. ' _No more! I won't let them hurt you anymore! I SWEAR IT!'_

With that final thought, she left the area, plans forming in her mind, to save Issei.

Upon returning home, Issei began to contemplate the day's events.

' _What is her deal... Can't she just stop pretending to care? Like they all do... I will not let anyone in again... Not after what happened last time...'_

Moving to his room, Issei walked in, kicked off his shoes, and flopped down on the bed for another dreamless sleep.

 **Dreamscape**

Fog. As far as the eye could (or couldn't, in Issei's opinion) see, there was fog. Not knowing where he was, the confused lad decided to see if anyone was here with him. After what seemed like hours wandering around, Issei recognized the sound of running water to his left. Turning towards the sound, he cautiously moved closer to it, growing ever closer to the source of the noise. As Issei neared the noise, the fog became clearer and started to thin out.

' _Now that it's clearing up, I can almost make out something ahead..._ '

 **"Not yet child, it's time to wake up"**

 **ISSEI'S ROOM**

"!" Issei woke up in a cold sweat, panting heavily from the sudden jump to consciousness. Getting out of bed, he drew back the curtains from his bedside window.

' _Jeeze... It's still dark out... what the hell was that dream about though? It seemed too real to be a dream..._ '

"*Sigh*" He looked towards his clock with an irritable expression.

"Man... 2:30? Tch... falling asleep is gonna be a bitch and a half... Might as well read something."

Having an eidetic memory, even with its drawbacks was a great boon for learning. With Issei being an introvert with no friends, his hobby repertoire was vast, consisting of activities such as, reading, playing music, cooking, and a few others. Looking towards his bookshelf, he lifted himself off the bed and made his way over to the books. While making his way over to the bookshelf, Issei noticed a lone crimson red book with emerald green lettering, sitting on his desk. Making his way to the desk with ardent curiosity, Issei picked up the book.

"Life magic? The legend of ***********, hmmm… can't make out that last bit."

With a puzzled look on his face, Issei turned to the first page.

 _Life. The culmination of all things. The force that drives the very universe, to its core. Some ponder upon its meaning, others curse its name. While some seek to understand its workings, many more seek to end it. Whosoever holds this book, is one of the chosen few who have received the blessing of ***********_ _, an honor which has only been given to a select few, such as ***** ********_ _and ********** ******_ _, both of whom are deceased, or put into items like the *** ********_ _which has long since been destroyed. The Powers manifest to the users personality, such as a pendant, or Magical Tome, but in your case, the power has yet to awaken and only small fragments of information are available. You have most likely been made aware of this as the previous owners of this power, as well as the magical artifacts that contained this power have been, magically redacted from your mind. However, as you are the first user in many centuries, you already have an ability that was manifested on the day of your birth... Think upon your life and what abnormal ability you might have. Do you_ _ **remember?**_ _Yes? Good, your benefactor saw fit to release a minute portion of power to you when they foresaw some of your future trials. This power divulged itself in your eidetic memory; quite a boon for a budding magician, wouldn't you say? That being said, the one who holds this power has a choice to make. But first, here's a question for you. Is life inherently good? Is death intrinsically evil? Or is it possible to pervert the ways of life? And if so, then can the path of death also be rectified? You must choose; what will you become? Shall you take up a shield to defend all that you hold dear? A vanguard of might, one who fights, be it for good or evil? Or will you become a denizen of the dark, who seeks only chaos? The choice is yours, do with it what you will. And come what may; remember that your actions have consequences. Be they virtuous or wicked, you shall bear responsibility for your actions. Life is not a game to be trifled with, do not forget that Issei Hyoudou. This book will now imprint itself on you. There will be a slight shock, but do not be alarmed, the process is perfectly safe... Mostly..._

 _"Oww! Damn it!"_

 _The book fell from Issei's shocked hands. Thoughts racing, he sought an explanation for_ what he had just read.

' _Okay... what the hell was that... If what I just read is true, then... No, you know what? I am soo not dealing with this right now. I am going back to sleep; and putting all thoughts of mystical semi-sentient books on the backburner. Seriously... its three forty-two, I need to get some sleep or I'm gonna be a zombie when I wake up._ '

With that final thought, he went back to his bed to try and sleep whatever was left of the night away.

 **? P.O.V**

' _His power is manifesting faster than I expected. Odd, for someone who not even a day ago, wanted to die, to be so in tune with life. I can only hope that he will choose the correct path, and I will aid him in any way that I can._

 **END Chapter 1**

 **A/N**

 **Well there you have it! The first chapter of A Soul In Need. Tell me what you thought and also im open to ideas of what you guys want. If you can, I'm still trying to figure out what physical form his sacred gear should have. I've got most of the powers down and who is residing in it, just not a clue what it should look like. Keep in mind his powers are mostly magic based. So if you could pop some ideas in the reviews I would be Super grateful, and whoever's idea I use will be mentioned as the co creator of said gear in my future A/N's as well as anyone else who helps out.**

 **By the way, if anyone is wondering what the vacuum cleaner thing was in the beginning? I'll tell you the story next chapter if you guys want me too**

 **Stay Safe, and know that your Tzar cares for his people.**


	2. And Now My Only Friend Is A Book?

**I HAVE RETURNED WITH THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

 **FIRST THINGS FIRST, I HAVE TO SAY THAT THESE PEOPLE**

 **Kobolte, Heath Oslo, And dragonrider66 are awesome. Well all those that reviewed are awesome, but these three actually took time to tell me what the thought of my story and I definitely listened to them and appreciate their ideas.**

 **To Heath Oslo, Your Sacred gear ideas are amazing, just the kind of inspiration I was looking for and you will definitely see one of those ideas in the future.**

 **To Kobolte, you are a champ. I am extremely grateful for your criticism and I kept it in mind when I wrote this chapter.**

 **And finally to dragonrider66, I'm glad you decided to pm me and while short we had a good discussion about what you thought was a good idea, and I appreciate any future reviews you give me**

 **Disclaimer:** **This Tzar does not own Highschool DXD or any other media because let's face it, if I did, I would not be writing this right now and Issei would be less perverted and more badass.**

 **Thoughts:** _ **'**_ _I need a drink…_ '

 **Regular Speech:** "No, what you need is a lobotomy."

 **Sacred Gear Thoughts:** **'This is ridiculous'**

 **Sacred Gear Speech:** **"Welcome to my warehouse~"**

 **?**

A young child with black hair could be seen kneeling at a family grave, silently mourning the loss of his family. His eyes open; and he gains a hard look of determination in his eyes, unusual for such a young child. The scene fades away to another of the same child, now a little older, waiting for his teacher's response to his research paper. The three men looked shocked at what the child had written.

With a concerned glance at the young boy, the middle of the three elders huddled around the paper asked him. "This... This paper… Is this your work?

If the boy was at all offended at the question, he didn't show it. Instead he responded with a blank look and responded with a simple; "Yes"

The man's look became a bit constrained as he just stared at the contents of the paper. "….."

With a mix of worry, shock, and a bit of awe the man to the right of him spoke. "It's a wonderful paper, but the theme is a little too heavy for you…"

The man holding the paper held his constrained look as he told the boy; "It's not something you should be doing at your age…"

The man to his left had a disgruntled look on his face as if he could see what this boy would soon become if he wasn't told what he had researched was wrong. "Furthermore, life and death and their connection to magic have and still are considered a taboo subject for us…

The three elders gained a morose look on their face, and the man on the right sought to educate the child. "Even an adult wouldn't dare write about something like this…"

The paper holding elder's face held a darker look than the rest, as if realizing something distressful about the research. "True… Prying on a topic like this will only enrage the almighty Ankhseram…"

The leftmost man had an almost pleading look on his face. "Please… Refrain from doing anymore research like this in the future…"

All three of the men's faced hardened resolutely. "Do you understand, *****?"

The little boy sullenly stared at the ground as he responded to the magic elders' question. "….Yes…"

The Elders then gave him back his papers and sent him off with a relieved smile. "Off you go now lad, you have a brilliant mind, and I think you should work on something a little more grounded until you become older. Please do not be angry with us, we are only looking out for your well being."

Once the boy had left, the elders turned to each other with solemn gazes. "I hate discouraging an up and coming genius, but that was for his own good." The man on the right stated as he stared in the direction the young boy went.

The young boy silently walked away from the elders and left the school to the nearby forest. Clutching his research to his tiny frame, he grew indignant at the elder's words. "I was just curious, that's all…" He started, frustrated at their lack of understanding. "Why do we live and die…"

Everything went dark and then the boy's voice was heard. "Live and die." The voice grew firm. "Live and Die." Again the voice grew. "LIVE and DIE" The voice became distorted. **"LIVE and DIE"** Then the voice's tone changed. " **LIVE? Or DIE?"** Growing angry, the voice raged out. _**"DIE!"**_

 **HYOUDOU RESIDENCE: MORNING**

A bloodcurdling scream rang throughout the house, startling the flock of ravens roosting on the power lines overhead. Issei sat up in his bed, covered in a cold sweat, breathing heavily from the nightmare. After calming slightly, he began to wonder what the meaning of the dream was. ' _Okay what the hell was that?_ _It all seemed so real, and I remember everything like it happened right in front of me._ '

The still rattled boy grew confused at the fact that he could remember the entire dream perfectly. ' _Ok, I understand remembering what I_ _dreamt about, I remember my dreams all the time… But this one was different; more realistic and vivid than I've ever experienced in a dream._ Issei tried to understand what the dream had even meant, pondering on the events that transpired. _'Small children giving research papers in magic schools? Life and death magic theories and who were those people? And when they said the boy's name, why couldn't I hear it?_ '

He grew frustrated and ran his hand through his matted hair and caught a whiff of his underarms. "Phew! I need to take a shower, I smell absolutely rancid! And my bed is all sweaty too! I better put this in the wash." With that, Issei threw his covers off of himself and lifted his sweat covered body out of bed. Pulling his bed sheets from the bed, he then took tossed them in his hamper. After grabbing some clean clothes and placing his dirty ones in the laundry basket, Issei walked half-naked to the bathroom. Placing his clean clothes on the sink counter, Issei turned on the water and began to fill up the bathtub. As he rinsed himself off, he let his thoughts wander and once he finished, he then lowered his body into the heated water below.

 **?**

"Damn it!" A soft feminine voice cursed in defeat. "It wasn't supposed to happen this soon!" She furrowed her brow, concentrating on her current task. "It was already taking all of my sealed power to keep him sane…" Her face held a bittersweet smile. "He will have to awaken soon. He won't be the same; he'll change just like the rest of them." Finished with her work, her demeanor became somewhat wistful. "It shouldn't be like this... He shouldn't have to suffer; not like this…" A lone tear trailed down her cheek. "If only you were here Korialstasz." Several more tears fell. You would have loved him, protected him. He is of our kin regardless of his birth." The tears were cascading down her face. "I will guide him, my love. He will carry on our name… Our line…" She smiled through the tears, as she remembered his words.

" _I am your servant, now and forever, my love."_

 **KUOU ACADEMY**

" _I am your servant, now and forever, my love."_

"?" Issei turned around, on his way out of class. ' _Who said that?_ ' He shrugged it off, thinking it nothing more than something cooked up by his subconscious. "Whatever, I should get home quick to avoid that Amano girl." He muttered.

As Issei left the building, a voice was heard behind him. "…ei-kuuuun!" He froze in place, groaning to himself, and continued on his way home. "Isseiiiii-kuuuuun, wait for me!"

Sighing, he turned around and faced the girl. "Amano-san, I believe I asked you to leave me alone yesterday and I meant it." His lips curved down, and brows furrowed. "What exactly do you want from me? What could you possibly want to talk about that's so important that you have followed me after school ever since your first day at school?"

She looked down at her feet, unshed tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. "I just want to talk to you Issei-kun…" Her voice grew slightly louder. "I want to get to know you! The real you, the one you hide from everyone, because of how judgmental you think they are!" I hate it when I see the way you view the world I-"

Issei's eyes narrowed. "Stop; not here, everyone's watching us and knowing my luck they'll think I'm harassing you or something stupid like that. Let's go somewhere that no one will bother us okay?" He finished softly. Turning on his heel, Issei walked off the school grounds with Amano Yuuma in tow.

Making their way to a park in the outskirts of the area, Issei motioned to a bench for them to move to. After sitting, they stared at each other in uncomfortable silence for a while until Issei spoke up. "Okay, now that we're alone and won't be interrupted what is it you wanted to tell me so I can go home and sleep?

Yuuma took in a deep breath, preparing her thoughts. "… I hate it when I see the way you look at the world… She began softly. "You remind me of someone I used to know so much…" Her eyes closed as if she was remembering him. "He had the same look you had; so empty, he had given up on life and I don't want you to turn out like he did…" She met his gaze, with a stern look. "I was too late to save him, but you're still here!" The solemn girl's voice rose. "It's not too late for you! Things can get better, if you don't give up!" Her eye's softened and she gently reached out and put her hand upon his. "Please… if you truly want to be alone, ill stop trying to be your friend, for now… I won't give up though, not when I know that you could be happy." Yuuma stared at him resolutely. "I will be here for you, Issei-kun. So please… let me in, you don't need to be alone anymore."

As Issei pulled his hand away from her own, Yuuma's heart broke. She was about to leave when she noticed him fold his hands underneath his chin and start speaking. "You know, I've never had a problem with being alone." He started softly. "It was always like that, my parents were never home, and I never really had a true friend…" His eyes became misty. "The last time I was truly happy, was when I was four… I had met a girl my age; we played for the whole day." Issei had a serene smile on his face, remembering the day. "We played all kinds of games, from tag, to hide and seek, and even ball catching." His smile lessened as he remembered. "I never saw her after that… I never even asked her for her name." Whatever was left of his smile fell into a frown. "After that day my parents kept leaving on business trip after business trip, like I wasn't even there." His frown deepened. "I had made a friend in junior high, but that didn't pan out."

Yuuma didn't notice the brief scowl that appeared on Issei's face. She couldn't come up with anything to say, so she gave him a simple two words. "I see…" She said hoping that he would continue.

Issei glanced at her for a brief moment, deciding whether or not to finish. Noticing her violet eyes staring at him with concern, he continued his story. "After that, I stopped talking to people for a while, I was completely alone, and that didn't bother me at all." His eyes grew teary. "Being alone isn't such a bad thing; I wasn't bothering anyone and no one bothered me." Issei's breath hitched. "It was nice, keeping to myself, learning new things from a new book I had been reading; or this new recipe I wanted to try out, mastering a new song on my guitar…" He trailed off, pausing. "Being alone was never a bad thing for me." The sadness in his voice grew. "It was just me, alone; and I was okay with that. But when I see all these people… A group of friends, laughing at a funny joke, a family having a picnic at the park; or lovers holding each other… I was fine being lonely; I was fine keeping to myself… I never needed any more than that, I never wanted, anymore than that." His voice cracked as tears fell down his face. "Every day I- I come home to nothing… No parents to ask how my day was, no friends to have a laugh with; not one person who cares for me… And I told myself I didn't need anyone, I forced myself to believe it, because if I didn't, then there was no point to being alive anymore…"

"!" Yuuma's eyes widened, she leaped at him from her spot on the bench and knocked Issei over. "You can't! Don't give up Issei-kun! Please… I just couldn't forgive myself if something happened to you!" Tears started to drop onto Issei's face as she pleaded with him.

Stunned, Issei turned away and muttered something under his breath. ". …..dy tried…" As soon as the words left his lips, his eyes widened and he covered his mouth with his hands.

Silently pleading that she heard him wrong, Yuuma turned his head to face her own and stared into his eyes. "W-what did y-you say…"

Immediately regretting his slip, He became evasive. "It was nothing… I-I didn't say anything…"

Giving him a horrified look, she pulled him off the ground and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Issei-kun; please, please tell me you didn't… That you haven't…" She desperately searched his eyes for something anything to let it not be true.

Shame filling his face he replied. "…I said; I already tried… It was the day my parents left me. They abandoned me, and I couldn't handle it…" He gazed emptily at her. "I was so close to ending it, but I heard a voice shout at me to stop… After that, I broke down for a while before heading to school." He smirked a little bit. "That was the morning that you transferred in and everyone freaked out abo-"

 ***SLAP***

Yuuma looked at him with an unbelieving stare. "You… IDIOT! How could you DO such a thing! I can't believe you would give up like that! How could you even think that was the correct way to handle the situation?!" She was about to continue when Issei suddenly shoved her off of him.

Issei looked at Yuuma icily. "How dare you…" He slowly backed away from her. "You don't know anything about me… I told you what I did because I thought you might've understood. You got me to show you more of myself than I've ever shown anyone." Anger seeped into his words as he continued. "And after I open myself to you; you had the gall, the audacity to strike me; to criticize me?" Yuuma shrank under his gaze as he spoke to her, trying to interrupt him to apologize.

"Issei-kun I-" But Issei would have none of it.

"NO! He roared. "You don't get to just apologize after that!" The angry boy stepped towards the now frightened girl. "I trusted you! And you literally slapped me in my face!" He drew even closer to her. "I told you things I don't tell anyone; that I've never; told anyone! " Issei was now in front of the girl, hands on her shoulders. Neither of them noticed the faint white glow coming off his hands. "I knew I shouldn't have talked to you, you're just like the rest; always judging me, ridiculing me for things you have no business talking about." The hurt boy growled as he felt a searing pain in his hands; and suddenly he felt stronger, stronger than he'd ever felt in his entire life. While this was happening, Yuuma started feeling weaker as Issei gripped her shoulders.

"Issei-kun, you're hurting me." She managed to whimper out from his grip. Issei became frightened, and let go as he tumbled to the floor, his thoughts a mess.

' _I hurt her, how could I do that? She did the same it's only fair I repay her…_ 'His thoughts became frantic.' _No! I was just mad I didn't want to hurt her!_ ' ' _But she deserved it!_ ' _No! She didn't! Yes! She did! No! Yes! No! Yes!_ _ **NOOO!/YEESS!**_

Issei's body lay convulsing, on the pavement, the faint white glow now a surging wave of power fluctuating to and fro. The power slowly but surely, covering his body from view. Regardless of the pain she was in, Yuuma worriedly tried to get to Issei and save him. Closing in on the overwhelming power, she reached out for Issei's body, only to get thrown back by a shockwave of energy. She could only see above his upper torso now, the rest of his body engulfed by the white light. Gaining a look of determination, she tore off her school coat, leaving her in a backless snow white blouse. The power now covering all but his head Issei managed to open his eyes for a split second, before he passed out. The last thing he saw was a pair of pure white feathered wings burst from her back. As he lost consciousness, he managed to utter out a single word.

"…angel…"

 **I AM A SOUL IN NEED I AM A SOUL IN NEED**

 **?**

The young boy from before, now older; was seen once again, in front of a crowd of his peers and teachers. Gesturing to a chalkboard with his pointer stick, the boy proceeded to share his research with the crowd. "It's still a theory; but if we could successfully gather twenty-seven million of these magic spheres…" He trailed off gauging the reactions of his audience. "The *** System would be complete. Finished with his presentation, he looked to the crowd and waited for their reactions to his work.

Awestruck, one of the audience members could only come up with a single word. "Amazing…"

Another student; simply elated by the theoretical applications; shared their thoughts on the young student's idea. "That's a wonderful research proposal…"

Not the entire crowd was enthused by the idea though. "He's talking about bringing back the dead?" There was a frown on the students face.

Amongst the rest of the murmurs, an older student had a mixed look of awe, and foreboding. "That kid's a prodigy, one that the academy hasn't seen in years…

One of the schools elders stared at the boy with a grim look on his face. "…" After the crowd dispersed, he pulled the boy aside to talk to him. "How many times must I tell you *****…" He shook his head in exasperation. "It is taboo to bring back the dead…" The elders face hardened at his next thought. "…And based on your theory, we'd require a sacrifice in exchange for the life you're bringing back…"

The younger student's face remained neutral as he stood silently. "…..."

The elder man sternly looked at his student, trying to knock some sense into his misguided pupil. "Life and death is a natural process, and it is unwise for us humans to tamper with the order…"

His student blankly stared at him like a brick wall, before responding to him. "But wouldn't you agree that life itself is artificial in many ways?" His face gained a puzzled expression. "So why aren't death and the afterlife that acceptable…?"

The elder becomes weary, shaking back and forth. "Oh!" He put his hands together and imploringly looked to the sky. "O-mighty gods, please be forgiving of this child…"

Looking down, the young student couldn't reply. "…."

A few years had passed after that and the boy had become a young adult, with his face becoming more angular and masculine. His inky black hair hung over his face, as he hunched over his paper cluttered desk. Piles of research papers and books strewn about the room, it seemed as he hadn't left the room in a long time. The elder entered the boy's room with an angry look on his face. "I thought I told you to stop working on the eclipse project?"

Not bothering to look at the man, he responded blandly like the elder wasn't even worth bothering with. "It'll be finished in a bit…." A grin appeared on his face. "This way we won't have to use my theory at all…" He paused in anticipation. "Eclipse… A time traveling door…" The young man seemed hopeful and sought to complete his research.

Still upset with him, the elder posed a question to his young pupil. "What do you plan on doing once you've gone back in time?" His stern visage still showing; he waited for an answer.

Stopping his studies to reply, but still not facing his elder; he started to respond. "Well…"

Not bothering to listen to the same reply that he always got from the young man, he cut him off. "All these projects of yours, the *** system, Eclipse, all of it was to bring back your brother, wasn't it?" Shaking his head in exasperation, he continued. "After all that is said and done, you still can't seem to let go of the idea of bringing back the dead, can you?"

With nothing to say the younger of the two chose silence as his response. "….."

Not wanting to mince words, the elder spoke to him with a hint of regret. "The board of directors agreed to expel you from the academy." Shocked, the young mage turned to face him as the elder continued. "They all had high hopes for you… But, it's such a pity…" He sighed as he looked at the shell-shocked young man.

Hardly able to believe what was happening, the man couldn't even form a proper response. "But… I…"

Becoming angry with his former student, he told him a truth that he had been ignoring in order to keep his sanity. "Your brother isn't coming back…" The younger man flinched in fear and began to shiver as sweat formed on his face. His elder grew furious, and he screamed out. "You can't bring him back!"

The man's shaking worsened, and he stumbled as he stood out of his chair. Leaning on the desk for support as he held his head from pain as wisps of dark magic surrounded his weary form. "Ah…. Ah…. AAAAAH….."

Looking at his former student with a concerned gaze, he noticed the plants in the room wither away and reached out to the suffering man. "*****? Are you alright?" The magic's density grew and the young man looked to the professor for help.

"Professor…."

The professor's face became grave as he realized the cause of his former students suffering. "This… Is Ankhserum's wrath…?"

As the young student lost consciousness, the dark power erupted from him and flowed throughout the school filling it with screams of death.

 **HYOUDOU RESIDENCE**

 **AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!** A gut wrenching scream could be heard throughout the entirety of the Hyoudou home. Thrashing about in his bed, Issei was screaming bloody murder as the overwhelming power tried to consume him. All the while Yuuma was trying to keep the power from killing him, drawing the power away from Issei. What no one noticed was that all the excess power was flowing into a crimson book on Issei's desk.

 **?**

While all of that was going on, another person was hard at work keeping Issei from an untimely demise. Gritting her teeth, she tried to balance the power threatening her host, and it was not going well. Things were not looking well for the host of the red dragon emperor, his life only hanging in the balance due to the combined efforts of the two women. "Shit! This wasn't supposed to happen yet! His body can't handle the strain!" Her efforts seemed in vain, but Issei was still holding on despite the corrosion of his body. "There has to be something I can do! He deserves a chance to live!" Her mind in overdrive, she thought of anything that could save the child's life. "Damn it! Think girl, think! What else could I do to save him?!" Her eyes widened, seriously considering her next step. ' _Guide me, my love._ ' And with that she began pouring her power directly into Issei's soul.

 **HYOUDOU RESIDENCE (A FEW MINUTES LATER)**

As Yuuma reached her limit, she noticed the light around Issei's body start to dissipate. Relieved but still wary of a relapse, she restrained her powers and retracted her wings before sinking to the floor exhausted. Keeping a close eye on the boy, she climbed into bed next to him so she could heal his wounds. She ran her hands through his soft brown hair whispering to him before closing her eyes. "Everything will be fine Issei-kun; I'll make sure of it…"

 **?**

Panting heavily, the exhausted woman fell to her knees from the strain of using her power in her sealed state. With a heavy sigh, she sadly resigned herself to a long slumber, a tiny piece of her regretting what she did to Issei. ' _I am terribly sorry my child; I can only pray that in time, you will forgive me for what I have done to you... For you are the last of us now. My heir, my… No; our child. Be safe my little emperor, and know, I will see you soon, and I will always love you._

" **I'll love you forever,**

 **I'll like you for always,**

 **As long as I'm living**

 **My baby you'll be."**

 **HYOUDOU RESIDENCE, MORNING**

Issei woke feeling better than he had ever felt for the longest time. Sitting up in his bed he felt a slender arm around the base of his torso. Turning his head to the right he tossed off the bed covers, and found Yuuma in his bed, half naked. So he did the only thing any normal teenage boy with a half naked girl in his room would do; he screamed.

 **GAAAAAAHHHH!**

Jumping off the bed, he tripped on the covers tangled at his feet and fell flat on his ass. "Ah! Damn that hurt!" Standing up, he looked around his room to see if there was anything that could help him figure out what had happened. Going to the middle of his room, he sat cross legged in a meditative position, and went through his memories. ' _Okay so, I remember getting angry at Amano-san; I put my hands on her shoulders and I-I-oh god, I was hurting her! She just wanted to help me and I, damn it…_ Back in the reality the sleeping form of Amano Yuuma stirred. ' _Damn it all, why did it attack her? And afterwards I, what the hell happened? I felt pain, so much pain it was unbearable, I think I blacked out but, why did she have wings? Who the hell is she, and what does she want from me?_ '

Slowly rising from her slumber Yuuma noticed the lack of a body next to her. She jolted out of bed scared that he had left and might be in danger, and then gaped as she saw Issei meditating in the center of the room with a light white aura around his form. Confused, and still worried for the boy, she drew closer to him and then sat on her knees in front of him.

Still processing his memories, Issei had yet to notice the girl in front of him staring at his face in concern. ' _Were those angel wings? There's no way that is possible! Right… coming from the guy who recently found a semi-sentient book on his desk and proceeded to turn into a living light bulb, that's rich._ ' His face furrowed in concentration, he continued his memory search. ' _Okay, what's the last thing I remember…? Hmmm, there was a woman's voice, I didn't see her, but she was, sad… She was, apologizing to me, why? She told me she loved me… Why would she say that? And that song; I've heard that before, when I was younger someone would sing it to me before I went to sleep. I'd almost forgotten about that, how did it go again?_

" _ **I'll love you forever,**_

 _ **I'll like you for always,**_

 _ **As long as I'm living**_

 _ **My baby you'll be."**_

As Issei sat there remembering those words, he was shaken out of his meditation by a worried voice. "…ei-kun! Issei-kun! Wake up! Are you okay!?" Yuuma was franticly shaking him by his shoulders with a worried face.

Slowly opening his eyes, Issei stared at Yuuma for a few seconds before jumping back, startled by the commotion. "A-Amano-san what are you doing in my house?" Shaking his head to calm himself, he stared into the girls eyes, waiting for an answer.

Still worried about Issei, she replied. "I brought you here after you collapsed, Issei-kun I was terrified!" Inching closer to him she stood, concern plastered upon her face. "Issei-kun, are you feeling okay? What's wrong?" She slowly closed the distance between them and didn't let the hurt show on her face when Issei flinched as she held his hand.

Slightly afraid, he responded to her with all the courage he could muster. "I-I'm fine Amano-san, see?" Giving her a weak grin he continued on. "Why'd you ask Amano-san?"

Confident that he was most definitely not alright, she raised her voice at him. "What do you mean you're fine?! You're crying!" Placing her other hand on his cheek, she spoke softly to him. "Please Issei-kun, let me help you; just let it all out. Everything will be fine, just let it all out." Issei wrapped his hands around the smaller girl's frame and let out all his pain as he cried into her shoulder. Softly rubbing his back, and running her hands through his hair she cooed to him. "Everything will be okay Issei-kun; you'll see; everything will get better soon, I promise."

After a while, Issei's sobs died down and he sat up with Yuuma still holding him. "…Thank you, Amano-san; I needed that." He pulled himself off of the girl, before staring her in the eyes. "Can you please tell me what happened after I blacked out?"

Sighing, she seemed to think for a moment before speaking. "Okay, I'll tell you what happened but first, promise me whatever you hear won't leave this room." After seeing him nod, she continued. "Well last night you manifested some sort of magical ability when you grabbed me. Seeing his sullen look, she gave him a small smile. "I'm fine Issei… You don't need to worry about me, I'm fine." While that was true now, she had almost destroyed herself keeping Issei from deaths door. "Anyway, after you grabbed me, you drained a portion of my life force and in turn awakened your sacred gear." Seeing his scared look, she tried to ease his mind. "Issei-kun, you don't need to worry about me I'll be fine, okay?"

Not placated by her words, Issei became worried for the girl. "But you said I drained your life force!" Tears pooling in the corners of his eyes he continued. "I've taken a piece of your life away! How can I ever begin to apologize for something like that?" He began to shake. "How can you even stand to be near me? I-I can't, n-no, don't just brush it off!" Issei backed away from the concerned girl.

Fearing for his safety, Yuuma wrapped her arms around Issei in an attempt to console him. "Issei-kun, you have nothing to apologize for." She began softly. "I am fine, you needn't worry; you stopped before you could do any lasting damage…" Gently lowering herself and Issei to the floor, she continued to whisper words of comfort to the shaken boy. "Everything will be fine, Issei-kun." Humming to herself, she sang to Issei.

" _Even if I say,  
It'll be alright,  
Still I hear you say,  
You want to end your life,  
Now and again we try,  
To just stay alive,  
Maybe we'll turn it all around,  
'Cause it's not too late  
It's never too late_"

Quietly sobbing in her embrace, Issei's sobs became muffled and after a few minutes, his cries stopped all-together. Pulling his body from hers, but still keeping close, he spoke. "…Will you tell me the rest of what happened last night?"

Giving him an odd look before realizing something they needed to address later, she recalled the events of that night. With Issei looking like he did, she told the rest of the story with caution. "After you drain…" Seeing him flinch, she changed her approach. "After you awakened your power, it was too much for a human with no prior magical experience to handle." Taking a breath to prepare herself for the next part, she continued. "Your own power started to eat at your body away, and I had spent the rest of the night trying to stabilize your power." She had a look of confusion on her face. "By all means, you honestly shouldn't have survived. My power shouldn't have been enough to suppress that amount of power."

Looking at her in confusion, Issei said. "If it wasn't enough, then how did you s-save me?" Not really understanding his situation that well, Issei continued. "More than that, what exactly are you?" He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "It's odd though, you came into my life exactly at the right moment; almost like you knew something like this would happen…" His face got a little serious, before smirking. "Or maybe you're my guardian angel… Nah! Like that would ever happen, this isn't a manga! He let out a jovial laugh, before looking at Yuuma's nervous face. "What's up with the look? You're acting like I kicked your puppy or something."

Slightly grimacing, she looked him in the eye; dreading to tell him what he was now a part of. "Listen, Issei-kun… There's something you should know…" Bracing herself for his reaction she told him the rest. "Now that you've awakened your power, there will be many people who will come after you. That's part of the reason I'm here in the first place.

Getting a bad feeling about what she was about to say he interrupted her. "What do you mean people are coming after me? These… People you're talking about, who are they?" Issei paused, dreading the next question he wanted to ask. "And the reason you're here in the first place? What is that supposed to mean?"

Not liking where his thoughts were going, she explained. "In this world there are many, many supernatural beings; the three most prominent being the Angels, Fallen Angels, and the last, and most evil in my opinion, the Devils." Seeing his nod as an understanding of her words, she pressed on. "There are others as well, fourth on the list being youkai, but they aren't important right now. The fact of the matter is, all of these factions felt your power release, and all of them are very interested in who you are." Taking a heavy breath, she mentally prepared herself for the next question. "Issei-kun… The reason I am here, is that my employers, my faction, sent me here to you for your protection." Giving him a sad smile, she continued. "My faction; the angel faction, was worried that you might be taken by one of the other factions, so they sent me to your school to observe you. While I followed their orders, I saw how much you were hurting and I just wanted to help you, and I really do care about you and I-"

"Stop…" Issei asked/pleaded. "I'm not even gonna ask about the factions right now, that's something for later." A slightly pained look crept onto his face. "I'm so grateful to you for saving my life, but I don't think I can deal with this right now… Listen… I'm not mad at you, it's just, all of this is just too much for me to deal with right now, so I think we should wait a couple of days and then we can talk about everything you said." Wiping a stray tear from his eye, he looked at her. "Is that okay?"

Happy that the boy she had come to care for didn't hate her, she nodded and stood up from her spot on the floor. "It's fine Issei-kun… Whenever you're ready to talk, I'll be there. I'll see you at school, kay?" Walking towards the door she turned around, her cheeks red from embarrassment, she said one final thing. "Ah, sorry I almost forgot to mention, your powers didn't go haywire yesterday, it happened a month ago… Ooops! I guess I should have lead with that huh? Hehe, bye-bye now Issei-kun, see you later!"

Leaving with a flash, Yuuma left a stunned Issei behind. Overwhelmed at all the info he'd received; he absentmindedly changed into his school uniform and went to his desk to grab his things for school. Glancing at his bookshelf, he noticed a familiar flash of crimson that he knew was not there before. Pulling the strange tome-like book from its space, he recognized the same striking emerald green lettering on the cover of the seemingly sentient text. Opening the book with a tender hand, he noticed the same words as before, the same words blurred out as if his mind wouldn't let him recognize them. Frowning, he turned the page to see if anything new had appeared to help him understand the strange book. As the page fell under his thumb, words started to appear on the page as he read them.

 _Hello again Issei Hyoudou, it has been some time since you last opened me for the first time._

"!" Startled by the abrupt greeting from the book, Issei dropped it to the floor. "Damn it… That book is freaky, forget semi-sentient this thing is full blown self aware!" Seeing more words show themselves, he slowly picked it back up and continued reading.

 _You know, it isn't very nice to drop people Issei. They tend to get upset because it kind of hurts._

Rolling his eyes, Issei deadpanned. "You're a book."

 _That I am, but considering the fact that you are holding a conversation with said book, there is really no point in telling me that now is there?_

A little annoyed at the book he responded. "You know, you seem to have gained an attitude since the last time I opened you."

 _Well… Remember when I told you that I imprinted myself on you? I seemed to have gained a semblance of humanity from the connection. Odd really, this never happened with the other users of this power. Although, I've never appeared as a book before, it was always some kind of trinket. And none of the others ever bothered to talk to me before. Mou~ I was so lonely Issei! You'll talk with me from now on right?_

Staring at the living book, Issei felt unsure of what to say. "…Umm… Sure I guess?"

 _Really?! Hooray! We're gonna be besties~, besties~ BFF's 4 eva!_

' _Wow… my only friend is a book. I think I finally went crazy…_ ' Confused at the book's complete 180 in its personality, he asked it very politely, why it was acting like that.

"Why in the nine hells are you talking like that?!"

 _Eh? Whaddya mean, bestie?_

Calming down, Issei told the book what he meant. "Well… You kinda got really lively all of the sudden, so I was kinda caught off guard."

 _I told you silly! After I imprinted myself on you, your awesomeness slammed into my awesomeness, and made an awesomnado! There were cosmic levels of psych-itude swirling around your body, and they were so radical that you almost became a crispy combo meal!_

' _What in the actual fuck is happening right now?_ '

 _And now that we're besties, I'm gonna help you unlock the true potential of your inherited power! You're the first one to ever have access to all of the powahhh! All the previous dudes and dudettes got one or two of my awesome abilities, but you can have all of them! For 0 easy payments of being friends with a sentient book; and a lot of hard work, all this can be yours! Issei you're gonna be legen-wait for it-dary! Legendary!_

' _This thing is certifiably insane…_ '

 _Oh yeah! I almost forgot! You should look in a mirror; the amount of awesomeness that we produced kinda turned you into a horse-faced lizard monster._

"!" Running to the bathroom to see his hideousness, he slammed the door open and looked into the mirror. What looked back at him was the definition of an Adonis. Just shy of six feet tall, Issei had grown almost a foot in height, almost six inches taller than the average Japanese male. Taking off his shirt, he stood shocked at his figure. "…I'm taller; more muscular… No extra parts… Nothing out of the ordinary other than the fact that I grew ten inches in the span of a month of sleep…"

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned around and saw the book, floating in front of his face.

 _Hey._

"GAAAHHH!" Falling flat on his ass, Issei stared up at the floating book. "Damn, don't scare me like that!"

 _Sorry dude, but you should've seen your face! You were all like wha! And Whammo! You fell right on your ass because you got scared by a book!_

His need for answers outweighed his need for a witty comeback. "What happened to me? Why am I so fit all of the sudden?"

 _Oh that? Think of it as a magical tune-up! While you were in an awesome induced coma, I might have ran the excess magic through your body to give it a jumpstart, so to speak. Clearing out the cobwebs, healing up any injuries, and maybe messin with your ding-a-ling if ya know what I mean *wink-wink*_

Quickly pulling down his pants, he scrambled to check his manhood. "…Aaand it's the same as before."

 _Hehehe~ made ya look! Ha! You shoulda seen your face! You were like AHHH! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ISSEI JR.! That was fun, anyway put your clothes back on ya weirdo we got some serious shit to talk about, and you can't be goofing off all the damn time._

' _Is this book for real?_ ' Coming to a realization, Issei asked the book a question. "Hey Do you have a name? I can't keep calling you book all the time, right?"

The book didn't reply for a good 20 seconds. _…You really are something else you know that? I've had thousands of users, thousands of them… Out of all of them, only a few have ever talked to me, even then no one has ever,_ _ **ever**_ _asked me for my name…_

Issei thought he had offended the mystical book and began to apologize. "Look I'm sorry I asked it was rude of me-"

 _It's Bernardine… My name; is Bernardine._

"Wow, your name sounds really beautiful… Wait does that mean you're a girl!" Issei was shocked! He never thought that the book had a name, not to mention a gender!

 _Oi, a sentient mystical book doesn't have to automatically be a guy ya know…_

"Well to be honest it was kinda hard to grasp that you had a gender to begin with, you being a book and all." Issei hoped he hadn't upset his friend.

 _Well… Whatever! You couldn't have known about that I'm just a book after all! By the way Issei, I have something to tell you._

"Yeah, what's up?

 _You're late._

"Shit!" Issei ran out of the door sprinting towards his school.

 **I AM A SOUL IN NEED I AM A SOUL IN NEED**

Upon reaching the school, Issei noticed the gate starting to close and he started running towards it so the student council president wouldn't give him detention. As he neared the entrance, the gate clicked shut and instead of stopping, Issei continued on, his body on autopilot. Running at the gate he jumped and raised his arms to the top of it and vaulted himself over the school entrance; landing right in front of Souna Shitori. "Well, shit..."

"Well, a month's absence has certainly done you some good hasn't it, Issei Hyoudou." Her violet eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Although it seems that you need some guidance on arriving on time, so let me help you out with that. Come to the student council office after school ends." With that she left to her class, a small smile on her face and she muttered to herself. "Glad to have you back… Hyoudou-kun..."

Sighing to himself, Issei cursed his luck, but his face held a tiny smile at the president's words. Climbing up the stairs to the second year's floor, Issei hoped his return wouldn't cause too much of a stir. Arriving at the door to his classroom, Issei noticed that the teacher had already begun to address the class and he pondered just going to the roof for his first period so he doesn't have to interrupt the class and draw unneeded attention to himself. Shaking his head at the thought, he opened the door as silently as possible. Unfortunately for him, the teacher and the entire class were staring straight at the door. Fortunately or unfortunately for Issei depending on your view of good and bad, the teacher didn't recognize the now different Issei.

Looking at Issei with a confused expression, he spoke to the student interrupting his class. "Excuse me young man, what are you doing in my class?" His eyes lit up in realization. "Oh! You must be a new student! Come here and introduce yourself to the class!"

Not really sure if he should, he tried to explain the situation to his teacher. "Um… Sir I-"

Thinking the boy was shy, he tried to coerce him to the front of the class. "No need to be shy kid! Come on up here and introduce yourself to your fellow classmates!"

Not seeing a way out of this, he slowly walked to the front of the class. Making note of the classes expressions, he found that it was completely different than normal. Most of the boys in his class looked jealous of him and the girls looked at him dreamily, which confused Issei because he was not used to this kind of attention. Glancing at Yuuma for support, he saw her give him a comforting smile. "Well… My name is Issei Hyoudou." Everyone's jaws dropped in shock.

Silence reined over the classroom, all but two of the students shocked into silence. The first one was not surprisingly, Amano Yuuma who only smiled at the young man. The other person who didn't seem shocked was a blonde haired, grey eyed boy in the back of the class who narrowed his eyes at the introduction. Deciding to relay this to his president later, he kept observing the strange boy.

Ignoring his gaping teacher and the rest of the stunned class, Issei went to his seat and sighed. All of his classmates continued staring at him until the teacher broke from his stupor. "O-okay class, now that we've gotten past Issei's surprising change; we should begin class." Seeing one of his student's hands shoot to the sky he gestured to said student to let them speak.

"Are we really not going to address the fact that the loser somehow got a hot bod!" One girl said with a mix of a blush and a scowl on her face.

One of the boys In the back of the class voiced his opinion as well. "What the hell? It's only been a month since we've seen him… How in the hell did he get so big!?"

Seeing the class starting to get rowdy, the teacher tried to calm them down. "Now class, I know you all want to talk with him seeing as he was gone for a month, but it can wait till class is over."

Groaning all of the students turned their attention to the teacher; until he turned to face the chalkboard. Quickly losing interest, most of the class was ignored in favor of Issei's new look. Trying to ignore the whispers of his classmates, Issei brought out his notebook to pass the time since he already knew the lesson and began to doodle in it. Being an avid reader, he had a lot of ideas floating in his head so when it came to drawing, he created many different scenes using his favorite characters from his books and games. Finishing what seemed to be an anthropomorphic fox with his back facing in full view, right arm extended out aiming his blaster towards the right side of the page. Starting on his next drawing, Issei moved to the opposite page, drawing a boy who was leaping backwards with his bow poised at the fox. Finishing up on the archer, he started on a crucial element of this character; the brilliant white angel wings. Before starting, he turned his head to look at his own guardian angel, a small smile showing on his face. Turning back to his desk, he began drawing the wings while thinking of the girl. Finally finished with his drawings, he started really thinking about what he was told last night.

Thinking back on it, he remembered what Yuuma had said about how she was from a faction of angels that had sent her to watch him. As much as he was grateful to her, and as sincere as she sounded about caring about him; he just couldn't trust her. Seriously though, a girl shows up his school and proceeds to stalk him on his way home. Then she somehow got him to tell his secrets to her! A stranger! And she turned out to be an angel… Was he just supposed to accept the fact that this angel was a part of his life now? No way!

As Issei became increasingly upset, he never noticed the drawings in his notebook had started twitching.

Still lost in his thoughts, he began to wonder why he had accepted this situation so easily… It was crazy! Not even a month ago he tried to end his life, and now he was getting angry, talking to a sentient book that in his opinion, was fucking crazy. And to top it off apparently there are three major factions, and who knows how many other smaller ones; who were interested in him for one reason or another. Like it or not, the only one he could truly trust was himself, and Bernardine.

The two drawings on his notebook were now testing their motor functions, before making eye contact with each other.

Speaking of Bernardine, Issei vowed to learn more about the psychotic book, because from what they talked about last night, the book seemed like she was lonely. Also, he decided to ask if Bernardine knew what had really happened, because awesomnados and magical tune-ups, along with psych-itude made no sense at all. He regretted not bringing her with him to ask all these things, as well as have someone that he trusted close by.

Aiming their weapons at each other, the two characters started to fire at each other, jumping, dodging, and rolling around Issei's notebook. Rushing towards the angel boy, the fox kept firing his blaster while reaching for a short staff with a spear-like tip. Seeing the fox pull out the staff the angel dashed forward his bow transforming into two blades. Raising them over his head he swiftly brought them down over the fox's head. Prepared for the attack, the fox blocked with his staff before driving his foot into his opponents stomach, sending him flying towards the edge of the page. Nearing the edge, he slammed against the side of the page before ripping through the paper and landing on Issei's hand. "!" Jerked out of his thoughts, Issei looked down at his right hand and saw his drawing of the angel kid stand up off of his hand.

Startled, Issei yelped as he fell out of his chair as he jerked away from his desk. The rest of the class stared at the fallen boy, and they all started laughing, even Yuuma gave a soft giggle at his perceived clumsiness. His teacher sighed before addressing his class. "Students, settle down okay? Having a laugh is great and all but you're all interrupting my class. And Hyoudou-san, try to at least seem interested in what the class is learning and keep your hobbies at home okay?"

Still shocked at the drawing, Issei absently nodded to the teacher and got back into his seat looking for the rogue drawing. Gazing towards his notebook he notice a piece of the page looked as if it had been torn out in the shape of his angel drawing. Seeing the fox still moving, and not wanting this one to escape the book like the other one, he drew a box around it to see if it would contain the fox. Seeing that it had stopped, he sighed in relief that his idea had worked before noticing that the fox brought out its blaster and started shooting the box. Flipping his pencil to the eraser, he erased the gun and proceeded to erase the rest of the fox to keep it from escaping. As he finished erasing, Issei glanced around the room looking for the other one and almost gasped when he saw his angel drawing at the window; giving him a wink and a bow before jumping off and floating away

Not really understanding what was happening, he sat there in silence waiting for the lunch bell. ' _Seriously… What did- How did it…? Nope, not dealing with this right now I'll talk to Bernardine when I get home_.'

 ***RING***

Happy that the lunch bell had rung, he quickly got out of his chair and went to leave the room. Looking back at Yuuma, he saw her get up to join him and shook his head telling making hr frown at his dismissal of her before sitting back down. Glad the she understood, Issei made his way up to the school roof; not noticing a blonde haired boy discreetly following him.

 **OMAKE**

Two figures could be seen entering a deserted warehouse, a woman and a man with the former chasing the man. "Get back here!"

Picking up speed, the man ran inside the building before dodging a well built man with dark hair and yellow bangs. "Watch out you- Oh! Sorry Mr. A! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!"

He chuckled at the other man's worry. "Hehe~ it's quite alright my subordinate!" Looking around he asked. "What might you be running from in such a hurry?"

Still worried, but grinning like a cheshire cat; he responded. "Well~ I've come across some very important information regarding my partner~!"

Frowning slightly at the man, the blonde banged man waited for his subordinate to tell him the information. "Well? What is it?"

Still grinning, he recounted the info. "Well it all started-"

A loud female voice interrupted the two men. "STOOOOP! Ha~ don't Huff~ say Haa~ anything." She finished panting.

Confused as to what was going on, their boss looked to the man. "Is this information important?"

"Absolutely!" He excitedly started to tell his leader the "important information". "…And then she got slapped by Eve!" He finished looking extremely pleased with himself.

Her face redder than a tomato from embarrassment and anger, the woman got a wicked smile on her face her partner immediately regretted his actions. "Well~ if we're all sharing important info, then I have something to share as well!" She looked to her boss and smiled. "Sir? Do you remember the vacuum cleaner that suddenly went missing a few years ago?" Her grin grew wider at her partner's new expression.

Still confused at what was going on, but amused none the less he responded. "Yeah I remember it; it was quite expensive if I remember correctly."

Continuing, she explained. "Well, my ever so responsible partner was feeling lonely one night, and he thought it would be a good idea to borrow the vacuum for a little bit of recreation…"

Her boss stared at her blankly, before saying. "You're shitting me."

She smirked at him. "I shit you not." She gestured to her partner. "I caught this retard in his room with the vacuum on with the hose on his dick!" She started laughing. "And the look on his face when he saw me; it was priceless! I can't look at a vacuum without laughing anymore!" She smirked triumphantly at her partner.

The man looked at his boss, his face flushed in embarrassment. "Sir i-"

Grinning the boss said. "So you like vacuums huh?" He laughed. "I've got one at home that I can introduce you to! She's a little aged, but she can still hang with the younger crowd!" Getting a tear in his eye he continued. "Oh I love bringing people together!" He placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "May your love be long lasting and may you have many healthy children together…"

"BOOOOOSSS! "He whined.

 **END**

 _ **A/N**_

 **Well! This chapter is practically twice as large as my first! I guess you can thank Kobolte for that! Also sorry if some of it was a little awkward I had some trouble with the Issei/Yuuma scenes. I'm more used to research papers and such so it'll probably take a few chapters to get used to it but I'm having fun with it so yeah.**

 **So we saw a little of Issei's power, also tell me who you think the two drawings were. I think it's pretty obvious. But also if you have figured out any of the hidden elements of the story like who people are and stuff, don't put it in the comments please. just pm me and i will confirm or deny kay?**

 **Side note the omake is actually based on a true story my buddy told me so I thought it would be fun to put it in here!**

 **Final thing like I said in the first chapter I'm writing this story chapter by chapter, there is no timeline on events to come. The first thing I do is think of ideas I want to do for the chapter and then I write it. And I'm talking like one sentence ideas too. As an example this was my outline for this chapter. (For obvious reasons, I'm gonna leave out certain names and stuff)**

 **CHAPTER II IDEAS**

 **YUUMA CONFRONTS ISSEI**

 **BOOK RETURNS, MORE INFORMATION**

 **INTRO TO THE 3 FACTIONS**

 **? P.O.V ON ISSEI**

 **? DREAM SEQUENCE**

 **And that's it the whole chapter basically summed up in 19 words that is all I wrote in preparation for this chapter.**

 **So any ideas you all have, put them in the comments, because I'll definitely consider all options that are decent.**

 **Stay Safe, and know that your Tzar cares for his people.**


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